Group-based ownership in dbt

Introduction

Group-based ownership helps teams share responsibility for data models. It makes managing and updating data easier and clearer.

When multiple people work on the same data project and need clear roles.

When you want to track who is responsible for different parts of your data pipeline.

When you want to control access and permissions based on team groups.

When you want to improve collaboration and accountability in data projects.

Syntax

dbt

version: 2
models:
  - name: model_name
    owners:
      - group: data_engineering
      - group: analytics_team

The owners field lists groups responsible for the model.

Groups are defined by your organization's access control system.

Examples

This assigns the sales_team group as owners of the sales_summary model.

dbt

version: 2
models:
  - name: sales_summary
    owners:
      - group: sales_team

Both analytics_team and data_engineering groups share ownership of the user_activity model.

dbt

version: 2
models:
  - name: user_activity
    owners:
      - group: analytics_team
      - group: data_engineering

Sample Program

This example shows a model named customer_orders owned by two groups: sales_team and data_engineering. This means both teams share responsibility for this model.

dbt

version: 2
models:
  - name: customer_orders
    description: "Aggregated customer orders data"
    owners:
      - group: sales_team
      - group: data_engineering

Important Notes

Group ownership helps with clear responsibility but does not replace individual accountability.

Make sure groups are well defined in your organization's access control system.

Summary

Group-based ownership assigns responsibility to teams, not just individuals.

This improves collaboration and clarity in data projects.

Use the owners field in your dbt model configuration to set group owners.